A lighting device is used to allow an operator to illuminate, and thus more precisely control and enhance, a space or area with a lighted field of view. In many situations, a lighting device can be used to illuminate a closed or confined space that would not regularly receive an adequate amount of light, if at all. Existing lighting devices are connectable to a variety of tools, including, for example, medical devices and screwdrivers, to illuminate the area in which the device or tool is to be used. Such lighting devices and light sources include attachments that have an electrical cord extending therefrom that in turn is connectable to a power source, attachments that are battery powered, and light sources integrally formed within a tool to direct light on a specific field of view.
In medical practice, lighting devices are used to direct light at a specific area being operated on or examined. For example, lighting devices can be used in conjunction with electrosurgical handheld devices, such as a BOVIE® pen used to incise through tissues, and a variety of other operative instruments, such as retractors and forceps. Lighted retractors are commonly used during surgeries to help illuminate the surgical field.
The inventor has discerned a number of disadvantages of previously known lighting devices. For example, known lighting devices that include a light source integrally formed therein are generally expensive, bulky, and can cause injury. Known cordless and corded lighting devices add significant bulk to a tool preventing a user from manipulating the tool with the precision required in many situations and being able to extend the tool into tight spaces. Additionally, many lighting device, especially corded lighting devices, require constant repositioning, are cumbersome, are assistant-dependent to hold or re-position, and can be disruptive to a surgical field. Further, corded lighting devices as well as light sources integrally formed within a tool can become hot, burn the user and/or the patient, and possibly even cause a fire. Headlights can be used as an alternative to a lighting device. However, similar to lighting devices, headlights are bulky, commonly require cables to connect to a power source, require constant readjustment, and can pose a potential safety hazard. Moreover, being worn on the head, they are at a distance from the surgical field, decreasing their effectiveness, and can be cumbersome to the user, and cause fatigue if worn for an extended period of time.